About Me

In 2009 I started running. Not because I really wanted to run, but because I thought it was at least something I could do on my own. It was my second attempt, my first was some time around 2002 or 2003. The main reason was because I thought it would help me lose weight. It did, but not really.

Now that it’s 2023 and I have this whole-what-feels-like-a-lifetime of running behind me, I can say I learned a few things:

  1. Running isn’t the key to weight loss. Movement and food go together.
  2. You may never be “fast”. it’s all relative.
  3. Committing to training and races actually teach you things you can use in other areas of your life.
  4. You don’t have to be thin to run.
  5. Sometimes it’s hard not to compare, but never forget that comparison is the thief of joy.

As of writing this, I’m 54 and have been struggling a lot with running and my body for the last several years. I’m still in menopause and there’s no way to know when it will end. Things on my body hurt. I don’t sleep well. My weight is close to where it was when I started. I could feel defeated or I can just carry on.

So I choose to carry on. I thought after the Chicago marathon (October 2022) I would just stop and consider my running days over, but I’m not ready yet.

In addition to running, I love walking, biking and I’m pushing myself back into my total-fit mindset again. I’m also the Event Director of our local parkrun, I am involved in an empowering local Ladies Group, I happen to be married to the best person in the world I could have only dreamed about, I have 4 cats and I live in the beautiful green city of Arnhem, the Netherlands even though I am originally from the United States.

Ask me anything, I’m an open book, I just don’t want to write a book here on this page and drive people away before they even get started!